Examples of occupations and occupational groups that are more likely to have been exposed to carcinogens are listed in the following table.
Please note: This list was complied from information available from reputable sources, but it is not complete . It represents associations that have been reported in literature between occupations and examples of substances often linked to cancer that may have been used in the workplace.
Exposure to a carcinogen does not necessarily mean that you will develop cancer. The OSH Answers on Occupational Cancer has more information.
| Occupations or Occupational Groups Associated with Carcinogen Exposure |
Occupations and Occupational Groups | Suspect Substance |
| Aircraft and aerospace industries | Beryllium and beryllium compounds; Ceramic fibres (refractory; aspirable); Ionizing radiation |
| Aluminum production | Aromatic amines; Pitch volatiles |
| Asbestos cement industry | Asbestos |
| Auramine manufacture | Auramine; 2-Naphthylamine; Pigments |
| Battery production workers | Cadmium and cadmium compounds |
| Beryllium extraction and processing | Beryllium and beryllium compounds |
| Boot & shoe manufacture/repair | Leather dust, benzene & other solvents |
| Bus and truck drivers; Dock workers; Filling station attendants; Mechanics; Operators of excavating machines; Professional drivers; Railroad workers; Transport industry | Diesel engine exhaust |
| Cadmium-copper alloy workers; Cadmium-smelter workers | Cadmium and cadmium compounds |
| Carpentry & joinery; Furniture & cabinet making | Wood dust |
| Ceramic production | Cobalt and cobalt compounds |
| Chemical and rubber industries | Aromatic amines; 1,3-Butadiene |
| Chemical industry | Acrylamide |
| Chromate production plants; Chromium ferro-alloy production | Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Coal gasification, coke production | Coal tar, coal-tar fumes; PAHs |
| Construction, Insulation and maintenance workers | Asbestos; Glass wool |
| Dry cleaning | Tetrachloroethylene; Trichloroethylene |
| Dyes and pigments production | Aromatic amines (e.g. 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl); Benzidine; Cadmium and cadmium compounds; Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Electrical capacitor manufacturing | Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) |
| Electronic production/industries | Beryllium and beryllium compounds; Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) |
| Electroplating processes | Cadmium and cadmium compounds |
| Fabric manufacture (heat-resistance) | Ceramic fibres (refractory; aspirable) |
| Furnace insulators | Ceramic fibres (refractory; aspirable) |
| Furniture restorers | Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) |
| Glass production | Cobalt and cobalt compounds |
| Hairdressers & barbers | Aerosols, Dyes (aromatic amines, amino-phenols with hydrogen peroxide); Propellants; Solvents |
| Hematite mining; Uranium miners | Radon daughters; Silica |
| Herbicide production | Polychlorophenols and their sodium salts |
| Hospitals | Acrylamide; Ethylene oxide |
| Iron and steel founding | Formaldehyde; Metal fumes; PAHs; Silica |
| Isopropanol manufacture, strong-acid process | Diisopropyl sulfate; Isopropyl oils; Sulfuric acid |
| Jewellers | Beryllium and beryllium compounds |
| Leather manufacturing including tanning | Polychlorophenols and their sodium salts, Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Magenta manufacture | Magenta; 4,4´-methylene bis(2-methylaniline); ortho-Nitrotoluene; ortho-Toluidine |
| Manufacture of pottery, paper, paint and cosmetics | Talc containing asbestiform fibres |
| Metal degreasing | Tetrachloroethylene; Trichloroethylene |
| Metals industry | Strong-inorganic mists containing sulfuric acid |
| Mineral processing | Acrylamide |
| Miners (including underground) | Cobalt and cobalt compounds; Ionizing radiation |
| Mining and milling | Asbestos |
| Mining of ores containing arsenic | Arsenic and arsenic compounds |
| Nickel refining and smelting; Welding | Nickel and nickel compounds |
| Nonferrous metal smelting | Arsenic and arsenic compounds |
| Nuclear industries clean-up workers following nuclear accidents | Beryllium and beryllium compounds; Ionizing radiation |
| Outdoor workers | Solar radiation |
| Painters (construction, automotive industry and other users) | Not identified; Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) |
| Paint stripping; Cleaning and degreasing | 1,2,3-Trichloropropane |
| Perfume preparation; Epoxy resin formulations; Styrene glycol production; Manufacture of cosmetics, surface coatings, agricultural and biological chemicals | Styrene-7,8-oxide |
| Petroleum refining | Acrylamide; PAHs |
| Pharmaceutical production | Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) |
| Plastics industries | Ceramic fibres (refractory; aspirable); Styrene |
| Plating and engraving; Lithography; Photography | Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Plutonium workers | Ionizing radiation |
| Polyester resin manufacture; Production of packaging materials and fibreglass-reinforced polyester | Styrene |
| Printing processes | Inks; Solvents |
| Processing of copper and nickel ore | Cobalt and cobalt compounds |
| Production | Ceramic fibres (refractory, aspirable); Dichloromethane (methylene chloride); Glass wool; Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Styrene-7,8-oxide; Tetrachloroethylene; Trichloroethylene |
| Production and use of resins, glycerine and propylene-based rubbers | Epichlorohydrin |
| Production of art glass, glass containers, and pressed ware | Arsenic; Antimony oxides; Asbestos; Lead; PAHs; Silica |
| Production of polyvinyl chloride and co-polymers; Refrigerant (before 1974) | Vinyl chloride |
| Production, packaging, and use of arsenic-containing pesticides | Arsenic and arsenic compounds |
| Radiologists and technologists; Radium-dial painters | Ionizing radiation |
Sheep dip manufacture | Arsenic and arsenic compounds
|
| Sheet-metal workers | Asbestos |
| Shiftwork that involves circadian disruption | -- |
| Ship builders | Ceramic fibres (refractory; aspirable) |
| Shipyard workers | Asbestos |
| Stainless-steel welding | Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Steel and lumber industries | Acrylamide |
| Sugar production | Acrylamide |
| Textile manufacturing/industries | Acrylamide; Ceramic fibres (refractory, aspirable); Polychlorophenols and their sodium salts; Styrene-7,8-oxide; Textile dust in manufacturing process; Dyes and solvents in dyeing and printing operation |
| Water and wastewater treatment | Acrylamide; Chromium (VI) compounds |
| Wood manufacturing | Pentachlorophenol; Polychlorophenols and their sodium salts |
| Wood preservation | Chromium (VI) compounds; Pentachlorophenol |
| Wool fibre production | Arsenic and arsenic compounds |
| Workers in bars and restaurants | Tobacco smoke |
Boffetta, P, et al. Current perspectives on occupational cancer risks. International journal of occupational and environmental health, Vol. 1, no. 4 (1995). p. 315-325
Carex: Most Common Occupational Exposures to IARC Agents - Ontario/British Columbia, Canada 2001 Census Data - 09-Jan-08
Occupational Medicine Clinical Update - Occupational Carcinogens - What makes it on the list. Fall 2005 - Occupational Health Workers for Ontario Workers Inc. (OHCOW)
Siemiatycki, J, et al. Listing occupational carcinogens. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 112, no. 15 (2004). p. 1447-1459
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